


Exhausted

by Azuraskys



Series: Glory to Mankind [1]
Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: All the characters listed have an important or decent role, Child Genius, Children, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Family, Family Fluff, Gen, God Complex, Human main, I Don't Even Know, Identity Reveal, Lots of references to Drakengard, Lots of references to Gestalt/Replicant, Mental Instability, Mentions of Dubcon, No Smut, Panic Attacks, Really really tiny mention of possible incestuous tendencies, Roller Coasters, Self-Indulgent, Spoilers, There's mostly a focus on the dynamic with Adam and Eve, Young Human, horrible use of the words "motor cortex" and "logic circuits", spoiler heavy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 14:43:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15821001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azuraskys/pseuds/Azuraskys
Summary: [OC/Reader Insert]On June 12th, 2003, humanity was shaken to its core. Events that were deemed a fantasy had become reality - a testament that none were prepared for. As years pass, organic life faces its greatest threat- and one father wants nothing more than to protect his unborn daughter from the threat of never experiencing life. To do this, however, means that she will have to take this journey alone.In the year 2020, as more and more children are gathered by the Hamelin Organization to fight the Legion, a strange object is seen launching into space, disappearing from radars in seconds. Within it, a timer is set. Once 10,000 years have passed, the object will return to Earth, allowing its creator's wish to come true. However, things don't go exactly as planned.[UPDATE COMING SOON]





	Exhausted

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfic on here, lol. I hope it's up to average standards. I must admit, this is a pretty self-indulgent fic since I just want everyone to be happy, and honestly what's better than an adorable little girl similar to Yonah teaching a bunch of emotionally-constipated fools how to be happy.

2B awoke with a start before blinking slowly, her eyes adjusting to the whiteness of the Bunker's interior. Noticing a figure to her left, she turned her head to see them, being greeted with the familiar face of her partner, 9S. Acknowledging her with a quick "Morning", he flicked away the little hologram displaying 2B's settings and status, having finished his task of taking care of her maintenance for the day. Sitting up, 2B retied her military visor around her eyes and stood before 9S.

  


        "Ah, 9S..." She greeted the Scanner.

  


        Standing up straighter, 9S quickly saluted his superior before speaking. "The Commander has put me in charge of your maintenance, ma'am," He began politely. "That means I'll be performing regular checks on you from now on. "

  


        2B nodded coldly. "I see."

  


        "Oh, don't worry! We 9S models are the best around, you know..." 9S paused for a moment, expecting 2B to speak. When she didn't show any sign of doing so, he continued. "... Though I suppose we're not exactly known for our modesty." 

  


        Not knowing what to think of this information, 2B opted to sigh instead. An awkward silence fell between the two androids, neither of them moving from their spots for a few seconds. Once the silence became too awkward to bare, 2B took charge, deciding now was as good as any time to rid the formality between them. 

  


        "9S." She started.

  


        "Hm? What is it, ma'am?" The Scanner responded, fiddling with his hands behind his back.

  


        "Stop calling me ma'am."

  


        The request took 9S by surprise. His eyes went a little wider underneath his visor, if only for a second, before sputtering out a short "Huh?" 

  


        The female android before him leaned a little closer, putting her hand up as if she was signaling him to stop talking. "There's no need to be so formal." With that, she turned away and began to leave the room, her pod following suit. The confident clacking of her heels on the pristine floor of the Bunker brought 9S out of his unneeded trance.

  


        "Oh! I almost forgot-" He called after 2B, effectively grabbing her attention. She stopped in front of the door, turning to him without a word. "The Commander was calling for you. We'd better go see what's up, ma- er, 2B." With a curt nod, she left her room, 9S following suit. The two unceremoniously sprinted through the hallway of the Bunker before slowing down in front of the doorway to the main control room. Walking briskly inside, they made their way to the elevator downwards, paying no heed to the groups of fellow androids scattered about the area. As the elevator descended, 2B received a notification that she had a message. She made a mental note to check it later.

  


        Stepping out of the elevator, it wasn't hard for them to spot the Commander. Being the only android wearing white, and carrying a riding crop, she was easy to spot from a mile away.

  


        Nearing the Commander, 2B called to her. "Commander," She began. The woman turned around to see who was calling her, stern eyes landing on 2B's approaching form. "You called for us?" Stopping, 2B and 9S both saluted to their leader.

  


        "Ah, 2B, 9S," She addressed. "Maintenance finished?"

  


        2B nodded curtly. "Yes, Commander."

  


        Pleased with the answer, the Commander continued, "You detonated your black box to defeat the enemy, I see. Bold, but risky. Try not to be so reckless next time."

  


        "Understood."

  


        The Commander sighed quietly. "I know you're fresh out of maintenance, but I have another mission for you. I need you to head to the surface, rendezvous with the Resistance, and do some recon."

  


        "Doesn't YoRHa have a dedicated Resistance contact already?" 9S interrupted, seemingly oblivious to the rude nature of his action. The Commander shot him a stern look as a warning, causing him to falter slightly.

  


        Turning back to the _clearly_ responsible member of the team, she explained, "We haven't been able to get in touch with them. So we'll need you to look into that as well."   

  


        2B saluted the Commander once more, 9S scrambling to do the same. "Understood." They affirmed in unison. With that, they made their way to the Hangar. Once they stepped into the elevator on their way out of the control room, 9S whispered to 2B. "Man, the Commander is so stern."

  


        Ignoring the comment, yet acknowledging it with a sigh, 2B once again began running through the hallways, 9S following. Reaching the hangar's docking and takeoff bay, they stepped into their flight units with haste, eager to get the mission started, and hopefully over with. Taking off with a deafening blast, they entered the Earth's atmosphere in an instant, the familiar rooftops of the collapsed buildings coming into view.

  


        As they flew through the sky above the City Ruins, 9S spoke to 2B on the intercom. "Hey, 2B. Why do you think they sent a combat model like you to a recon job?" He questioned rhetorically. "If all they want is intel, we Scanner models are built for that kind of thing."

  


        "Orders are orders." 2B reminded her partner. Her vision lit up with a warning, alerting her that enemy lifeforms were approaching. "Prepare for battle. The machines have detected us."

  


        9S responded with a small "okay" and prepped his flight unit's guns, shooting at the flying machines that impeded on their journey. They weren't even a threat to him. This particular kind of machine was incredibly weak, and sometimes 9S wondered why they even tried attacking them- one bullet would send the machine into a ball of flames. Taking them out was like swatting flies, he thought.

  


        The sound of an incoming call broke 2B's focus only for a second. Operator 6O's voice rang out from the transmitter, stating that new weaponry was being installed into her flight unit. "Understood." 2B answered 6O habitually, opting for haste rather than politeness. To her left, a new screen popped up, displaying the words "MISSILE LAUNCH" in bright red. 2B slammed her hand on the screen as a swarm of machines came out from behind a skyscraper, and the result was devastating for the enemies. A barrage of missiles flew from her flight unit, specifically targeting every machine and rendering them to bits of burnt metal.

  


        Operator 6O, who was still on the call, cheered gleefully. "Good! It works." 6O clapped before resuming a serious tone. "I've set a landing point for your flight units. You'll be touching down quite a ways from the Resistance Camp, unfortunately. Sorry for the trouble, but we can't risk the enemy discovering their position." Like a switch, she was back to being cheery. "Good luck down there, 2B!"

  


        Putting their flight units into landing mode, they arrived atop a partially crumbled building, its rooftop connected to a skyscraper through a long platform of concrete that had fallen from the latter. "Alert: Target location acquired. Marking on map." Pod 042 reported the information in its usual monotone voice. Viewing the map from the inside of their visors, the two androids began making their way to the Resistance Camp, which was, just as 6O had said, quite a ways away. 9S took this as a chance to initiate conversation.

  


        "So, 2B, according to our intel, none of the machines in this area are hostile," He viewed the intel folder, flicking and tapping away as he spoke. "We've been seeing more and more enemies like this lately. They just stare into space. Its pretty weird, if you ask me." 

  


        2B hummed in acknowledgement. "Good. No need to waste our time on fighting docile machines."

  


        9S shrugged, even if 2B couldn't see it. "I guess so. Though, for all we know, they could be planning something." He paused, a bit dumbfounded by his own words. "But, then again, machines aren't capable of something so intricate."

  


        Silence fell upon them once more. 2B continued ahead through the partially-destroyed tower, paying no heed to the machines that aimlessly wandered by, before walking out onto the grass-covered street filled with decaying cars and random chunks of metal. 9S, however, was carefully watching every machine they passed, waiting for it to attack. When it never did, he continued to watch the next one. He was always on his toes. Better safe than sorry. Its much too early in the mission for them to have to reload their data into a new body at the Bunker.

  


        Spotting a quicker path to the camp, 2B made her way to a broken overpass, a makeshift wall made from scrap metal and barbed wire on the other side. "9S, I've spotted a faster way to get to the Resistance Camp. We need to jump over this wall."

  


        "Roger that." He replied. 9S watched as 2B jumped in the air before having her pod throw her quite a distance, launching her onto a platform on the wall. He followed suit, repeating her actions move for move, landing right next to her on the platform and swiftly jumping over the barbed wire, effectively landing outside the entrance from the camp. "That was easy." He said to 2B as she jumped down behind him. 9S waited for her to resume her place in front of him, walking slowly on purpose as to stay behind her. Making their way through an alley between two buildings, they came upon a clearing behind another broken overpass.

  


        There were tarps hanging from the sides of buildings, connected to poles that held them up like roofs. Androids of varying models wandered around, talking and patrolling around the area, while some performed maintenance on their comrades within a designated area littered with cots. One android was busy tinkering with a piece of scrap metal, while another held a defeated look on his face as he stared at his toolbox. In the middle of the clearing was a small patch of flowers- two planks of wood placed on either side as to prevent the flowers from being trampled by busy workers. 9S spotted a transport box next to cargo trucks, which was certainly very handy. 2B began making her way to the Resistance leader without a word, following the marker placed on her map. They came upon a female android clad in a green cloak, black strands of hair peeking from underneath the hood. Her stern, green eyes softened as she spotted the two YoRHa soldiers, her stance changing to a relaxed one.

  


        Before 2B could speak, the leader spoke first. "You're... Number Two..." She looked as if she was in complete shock.

  


        "Hm? You know about 2B?" 9S interjected, curious as to how she knew 2B's designated number. _Perhaps..._

  


        The leader's stance resumed its previous, sturdy position, as she shifted from one foot to another. "Um... Well, yes. The Bunker told me to expect you." 9S hummed in acknowledgement. "My name is Anemone. I'm the leader of the android resistance that controls most of this territory. You must be the new scouts we heard about- my people are eager to offer information. Please, ask them anything you'd like." With that, Anemone quickly turned her back to the soldiers and began reading over a large book that was placed on the table. 2B and 9S looked at each other before nodding, turning and walking back into the courtyard of the camp.

  


        Standing near the flowers, 9S turned to 2B. "Hey 2B, let's save our data at that access point real quick. If we're going to go on any sort of missions, we should always save first." He pointed at the large black contraption at the end of the camp. 

  


        "Right." 2B agreed. After quickly saving their data, and 2B checking her inbox, they walked into the area with the cots. Approaching three androids all engaged in a meaningless conversation, 2B made her presence known with a short "Hello."

  


        The three androids stopped talking and immediately turned to 2B with a curious look in their eyes. "Oh, you're those YoRHa guys," a male android began. "I got that transport box up and running for you guys. Make sure to save your da-" A loud voice cut the man off mid-sentence.

  


        "Hey! You guys are those YoRHa scouts, right?" Asked a red-headed female as she ran toward them. She stopped in front of 9S, smiling briefly before beckoning another red-headed android to join her. "My name's Devola. This is my sister, Popola." The first, Devola, introduced herself along with her sister. With the two of them standing next to each other, 2B and 9S realized how similar they appeared- it would almost be impossible to tell them apart if their hairstyles weren't so different from each other. Devola sported a wavy, messy style while Popola had her hair straight and orderly. Popola waved hello with a warm smile. "We need your help. We really do."

  


        Popola walked forward, Devola stepping behind her to let her twin take the lead. "Devola and I have been..." She faltered, her eyes meeting with the unnaturally hostile glares from the other resistance members present. "... I don't think here is a good place to talk about it. Let's go somewhere we can talk in peace. Is that all right?"

  


        2B and 9S shared a look, before turning back to the twins and nodding. Relief washed over Devola and Popola, who were glad to finally receive help. Pointing to a room near the transport box, Devola took her sister's hand and made her way to it's door. "We can use this room. No one uses it, anyway." She pushed the door open and let Popola hold it for their new friends. Once they were all inside the room with privacy, Popola closed the door and sat beside Devola on one of the beds within the room, motioning for 2B and 9S to sit on the chairs adjacent to them.

  


        9S sat down quickly, with 2B next to him, and leaned forward. "So, what exactly is it that you can't talk about in front of the others?" He questioned, his voice laced with slight accusation. While he would've questioned them as soon as they had asked for his help, the way Popola halted in front of her fellow members made him swallow his words until they were in private. _This may be a simple recon mission_ , he thought, _but if this is serious enough for them to seek help from YoRHa, we should at least give it a chance._  

  


        It was Popola and Devola's turn to share a look. They seemed as if they were communicating without words- searching each other's eyes for some sort of answer. Devola placed a hand on her sister's once more, shifting in her seat. "We... don't know anything. Two days ago, Popola and I were searching for some materials in the forest when suddenly... we felt something." Devola explained as best as she could, but she hadn't the slightest clue on what else to say.

  


        Popola continued in her sister's stead. "It feels as if something is calling us," Devola nodded in agreement. "We know its a signal. But we don't know where its coming from... and no one else has been feeling it. Its only us. The whole camp is almost ready to have us checked for a logic virus." Once again Popola shared a look with her sister, this time a look of sorrow on their faces. Their pleading eyes eventually met 9S', making him feel slightly flustered.

  


        "A-alright." He started, putting them back on course. "In my opinion, at first glance, it would make sense why some would think its a logic virus. However, if its stayed isolated inside you guys for... what? Two days? Then that definitely isn't the case. I'll need to hack into your... _heads_ and locate the... um, _receiver_. From there, I'll copy the data from the signal, download it, and then examine it." He struggled to word it simply, causing it come out as if it were a game rather than a job. "It might feel a little funny at first. But it shouldn't break anything... or anything."

  


        The twin androids nodded with newfound confidence, placing all of their trust into the Scanner. "We... Thank you. We never really expected you to agree so easily." Popola said. _That makes two of us_ , 9S quipped, quickly abandoning the thought as he glanced at 2B, her face as stern and aloof as ever. The twins intertwined their fingers as 9S began the process. He decided to start with Popola, as he felt she had a better understanding of what she was experiencing. Not to say Devola was clueless- it just seemed that she was confused by it all, and didn't know what to make of it. Popola, on the other hand, seemed to understand what-

  


        _You're getting off track_ , 9S scolded himself.

  


        The inside of Popola was a labyrinth of black cubes, each surrounding a different terminal with different labels. 9S went past them, respecting Popola's privacy, as well as focusing on the mission at hand. _Find the signal_ , he repeated to himself. after what felt like hours of blasting away black cubes to make a path, 9S happened upon a strange clearing; a diamond-shaped terminal right in the middle. "This must be the... receiver." He deducted. Activating the terminal, 9S began his search protocol, looking for the source of it all.

  


        The terminal activated with a strange chime- something 9S had never witnessed before. His processors suddenly began to overload with a series of numbers, letters, and basic symbols; the sound of a blaring alarm resounding in his ears. He tried his best to stay within hacking mode, all the while the sounds got louder, his circuits reacting to sudden volts of electricity. Quickly opening a data storage within himself, he began to extract the signal's data, placing it inside for examination.

  


_78 percent... 82 percent... 87 percent... almost there...!_

  


_93 percent... 97 percent... 99 perce-_

  


**_\- Humanity! I will ... forth a new age, a perfect ... even without my presen - ... No matter the -!_  **

  


        "9S! 9S! Get a hold of yourself!" 2B called to her partner, who suddenly broke from his hacking protocol and stumbled backwards with a grunt, as if something had thrown him back. Strange sparks of electricity popped out from his joints for only a second before they disappeared under 9S' gloved hand as he patted himself down, regaining his composure. He couldn't believe what he had encountered inside Popola. A terminal unlike any he had seen before, a signal he couldn't decipher alone, and a strange message pertaining something about _Humanity_. Whatever that something is- he has a bad feeling about it.

  


        Regaining his composure, 9S immediately began to explain, "I managed to download the signal's data," He began, bringing his hand to his chin in thought, "But, as I was doing it, I experienced something... unsettling. I believe I lost control of my motor cortex, as well as my logic circuits. Luckily, it didn't last too long, however, I began to feel something... strange. I heard a voice- a _message_. It... It mentioned Humanity." While his sentence started with a voice full of wonder and analytical intent, it ended on a grim and worrisome note. Perhaps this is what Devola and Popola were feeling, albeit at a lower velocity? "I also felt... pulled to it. Like as if I was programmed to locate whatever this signal is."

  


        Everyone in the room was staring at him as if he had two heads.  It made him nervous- what was wrong? Was something on his face? Was he infected with a logic virus and didn't know it? No, impossible. He would be able to pick up on such a thing. "R-ridiculous notion, I kno-"

  


        "No, that's it." 

  


        "Huh?"

  


        "That's it!" Devola exclaimed. "That's exactly what we've been feeling. It's been in the back of our minds for days- it gets in the way of our goddamn jobs. We keep feeling desperate to find something we don't even know about. Its driving us _insane!_ " She turned to look at Popola, if only for a second.

  


        Said twin continued her sister's train of thought. _"_ You basically felt what we were feeling, but magnified by tenfold. Probably because you downloaded the signal's data directly _._ "

  


        9S glanced at 2B before nodding with determination. "I see. Pod, analyze the signal's data."

  


        "Affirmative." Pod 153 began to project a hologram displaying the jumbled letters and numbers from the signal, a soft beeping noise playing at a steady rhythm. "Analyzing... Signal location found. Source: Unknown. Location: 285º, 3,200 meters. Marking on map." 153 then displayed the current map data that was available, placing a red diamond marker on a large clearing on the other side of the map, to the northwest. 

  


        2B spoke up for the first time in a while, shifting her weight from one foot to another as she crossed her arms. "Not even a pod could identify the source. Perhaps we should report this to Command."

  


        With a grin on his face, full of excitement, 9S agreed. "Good idea, 2B."

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is always deeply appreciated! You can only get better with others, right?


End file.
